What is the Linkstation?

The LinkStation

The LinkStation is a small electronic appliance about the size of a book that's intended for use as a network-attached storage device, but which has earned a fair bit of ubiquity in the Linux and hacker community because of its ability to be converted into a general purpose Linux computer and adapted to tasks completely different from the purpose for which it was sold. The Linkstation has Ethernet, USB, and serial ports, but does not have a video output. It is made by Buffalo Technology a division of Melco. Produced in Japan, as of 2006 it is also available at American retailers such as CompUSA, as well as in Europe.

The Linkstation has undergone various improvements since it was first produced. For example, the first generation of this device had a 100BASE-T network adapter using a Parallel ATA hard drive. The most current version includes a 1000BASE-T-capable connection. Most versions of the device use a PowerPC processor but one uses a MIPS architecture processor. Future versions of the device use the Serial ATA interface for the hard drive.

What is a LinkStation I? What is a LinkStation II? What is a Gigabit LinkStation?

The powerpc-hdhlan LinkStation is sometimes referred to as the PPC LinkStation or LinkStation I. The mipsel-hdhlan LinkStation is sometimes referred to as the MIPSel LinkStation or LinkStation II. The powerpc-hdhglan LinkStation is sometimes referred to as the HG LinkStation or Gigabit LinkStation.

What are the differences between the powerpc-hdhlan, mipsel-hdhlan, and powerpc-hdhglan LinkStations?

The powerpc-hdhlan and mipsel-hdhlan LinkStations are essentially the same system running on different hardware (PPC versus MIPSel). The powerpc-hdhglan LinkStation also is a PPC system but features a gigabit ethernet connection and a faster processor than the powerpc-hdhlan LinkStation.

Which LinkStation is the best?

Each LinkStation has its strengths and weaknesses. The powerpc-hdhlan and powerpc-hdhglan LinkStations have been available longer and thus have been more thoroughly hacked. The powerpc-hdhglan LinkStation is the only unit with gigabit ethernet connectivity. You may examine our benchmark results and make your own decision.

Which is better, the LinkStation or the NSLU2?

The LinkStation has (1) a faster processor, (2) more RAM, (3) a large internal hard drive, and (4) optional gigabit ethernet connectivity. The NSLU2 (1) costs less and (2) has a more developed hacking community.

Firmware

Both firmwares replace the original Buffalo firmware when you flash them onto your Linkstation; all Linkstation firmwares (operating systems, so-to-speak) are Linux based.

OpenLink is our effort to provide firmware which “opens” your LinkStation, thus providing full access to the LinkStation. The OpenLink firmware is built upon the most recent official LinkStation firmware release. It retains all the stock capabilities of the official LinkStation firmware while adding a number of binaries and libraries. OpenLink is close to the look-and-feel of the Buffalo firmware, but enhanced: You can log on as root (system administrator), tweak the configuration, and install additional software. This makes OpenLink the first choice for less experienced Linux users.

FreeLink is our effort to provide firmware which “frees” your LinkStation The FreeLink firmware is built upon the most recent official LinkStation firmware release. It replaces the stock LinkStation Linux build with the latest Debian stable build. Debian is one of the most popular Linux distributions. Debian is highly regarded for its powerful package management system and huge software repository. The price for this is that you will lose the web based configuration tool shipped with the stock firmware - if you are familiar with Linux and your LinkStation, this should be no problem (otherwise you should consider this fact).

Because of a perceived increase in bricked HD-HG300's at a certain point in time, some people came up with the theory that there is a series of HD-HG300 LinkStations out there which are somehow inherently broken and can't be flashed. This is a theory, there is no proof of this. The thought is that some series of the 300 gigabyte HG Linkstations will always be bricked if you attempt to flash them with OpenLink or FreeLink, because these are thought to be defective. Kuroguy has revived one of these bricked boxes via JTAG, so if you brick your box, all is not lost. The serial numbers below are not number ranges, they are single serial numbers where the last three digits have been anonymised.

The theory says you have have one of these LinkStations if your Serial Number is below:

Will I lose my data when installing a new firmware?

No and yes. There are three partions of the LinkStation by default (hda1 - 394MB) (hda2 - 271MB) (hda3 - remaining). The operating system is kept on hda1, hda2 is a swap partition. The hard drive partition arrangement and data on hda3, which contains the LinkStation’s Samba, Netatalk, and FTP shares, is preserved between flashes. When you flash the firmware either with updated buffalo firmware (after all that's what the firmware updater is for) or OpenLink or FreeLink the data on /dev/hda1, which includes the operating system, will be completely erased.

The version number for the firmware updater is contained in the file linkstation_version.txt or /etc/linkstation_release.txt. Change this number to something higher than the existing firmware version. The linkstation_version.txt firmware version number is only used for comparison to the existing firmware version number; the real firmware version is stored inside the flash firmware. Take precaution when downgrading from modified firmware to official firmware because there is version specific information (for example, passwords for extracting the firmware) that Buffalo Technology may change with an update.

I’m trying to run the firmware updater and I receive the following error: The Network Address of the Computer and the LinkStation Differ, Hence an update cannot be completed. Please change one of the IP addresses so that the Network Addresses are the same. How can I run the firmware updater?

Usually when the LinkStation is not connected to anything it will revert to its default IP address of 192.168.11.150. To be able to connect to it and run the update you will need to set your PC to be in the same range as the unit, e.g., 192.168.11.40. If you connect the unit directly to your PC and set the IP address on the PC, you should be able to open the config screen for the LinkStation and then run the update.

Before trying the steps above, you should disable any network interfaces (physical and virtual - e.g. those installed with VMWare) that are not connected to the network to which the LinkStation is connected. The Firmware Updater seems to only use the first network interface it finds, and there is no means of selection on the GUI.

The Windows XP firewall is the number one cause of a failed firmware update. Disable all firewalls on or between your PC and LinkStation before running the firmware updater. If your computer has 2 network cards, disable the one which isn’t connected to the LinkStation.

I wish to start from scratch because my stuff is royally screwed. Where should I start ?

After you're done with those instructions, if you wish to increase partition1's size to 1G or more and make the swap 512M or more to make room for more programs, use parted or fdisk to delete p2&p3&p4 that the Linkstation created and then increase the existing p1, then recreate p2(swap type) &p3. Once p2&p3 are recreated, use this to mkswap and other things:

I downloaded a custom firmware and now telnet no longer prompts me for a password. What’s going on?

Since we don’t know the stock root password and cannot overwrite the existing passwd file with a firmware flash (yet), we need an easy way to gain root access. Thus we are forced to automatically open the root shell prompt, enabling the user to make some needed changes. Once you have gained root access by changing the password of root with "passwd", open up /etc/init.d/utelnetd with

I used the Upgrade to the 2.6-kernel (ppc only) instructions, After a power failure my system seems to be back on Kernel 2.4 What is the best way to just reinstall or select the Kernel V2.6?

I followed all tips from the FAQ-section...i disabled my Firewall, i try to directly connect the LS with a crossover-cable....i can connect to it over the webinterface, the samba shares and over telnet...but the firmware updater does not find the Linkstation....what else could be wrong?

Hz4711 had this problem: the linkstation has a service called ls_servd(apservd) which is needed for the firmware updater. it did not start. over telnet he could delete /var/run/ls_servd-eth0.pid because it was pretty old (you can check this by doing a "ls -a" in /var/run)...

afterwards start apservd:

/etc/init.d/apservd start

hopefully this happened only with an old openlink-version

I cannot connect to the Buffalo's FTP-Server?

The location and password have changed numerous times but the ftp-server now (at last check) allow anonymous connections (finally!):

/bin/more doesn't work. It says 'more: /dev/console: No such device'.

After moving directory to hda3 to free up space on hda1, some symbolic links don't work any more.

If you move files from hda1 to hda3 you must take care to add all necessary symlinks, to solve problems with busybox and perhaps other programs. Instructions are in the article on freeing up space on hda1.

A lot of commands stopped working. Busybox is overwritten after installing Development Tools.

This is very possible if you install some package which overwrites busybox through its symbolic links. For example, the Development Tools overwrites 'cmp' (through /usr/bin/cmp -> /bin/busybox) and this may ruin your busybox. One way to prevent this is add the k option (non-overwriting) for tar in install.sh.

If your busybox is overwritten, you might not even be able to boot. In that case, you'll have to rescue your busybox through other means, e.g. mount your HD under PC and use ext2_fix to write back the binary file.

I found busybox is easily overwritten, so I always keep another copy somewhere else and copy it back after any potential writing into /bin, /sbin, or /usr/bin.

My Linkstation has a static ip-adress and is connected to a router. How do I add (permanent) access to internet?

general settings:
Ip-adress of my router is 192.168.1.1. Ip-adress of my Linkstation is 192.168.1.4. After installing mipsel-openlink-052b, first I checked /etc/resolv.conf:

root@LS2:~# cat /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 192.168.1.1

I did not need to edit resolv.conf. No idea who did it for me, but thanks anyway ;-)

Adding a route manually (routing information is gone after reboot).

root@LS2:~# route add default gw 192.168.1.1

Adding a route permanently (routing information is restored after reboot).

Can I dynamically repartition the LinkStation hard drive?

You may be able to dynamically repartition the hard drive by using GNU Parted. Try it at your own risk!

Does the LinkStation offer NFS (Network File System) support?

Yes for later HG models. Other versions will but you will need to install the additional kernel modules first.

Can I connect multiple USB devices to the LinkStation via a USB hub?

Yes. Please see GeneralMoreUSBDevices for detailed instructions.

I can’t seem to log in via FTP as root. How can I do this?

There are many good reasons why you shouldn’t log in via FTP as root (too many to list here). You should consider whether you really need to log in as root. If you absolutely must log in as root, edit /etc/ftpusers, and remove the prohibited username root.

I managed to lock myself out of the web interface. How can I fix this?

Delete /www/.htpasswd and /www/cgi-bin/.htpasswd. The LinkStation will automatically regenerate the appropriate files.

When connected to the LinkStation via telnet, pressing enter/return once actually results in two carriage returns. How can I fix this?

Under PuTTY’s configuration menu, select “Connection,” then “Telnet,” and uncheck

Return key sends Telnet New Line instead of ^M.

Help! I was attempting to do “xxx” and now my LinkStation won’t work. What can I do?

Provided you haven’t altered the flash memory, reapplying the firmware update will usually return the LinkStation to the stock configuration. If you are not able to communicate with it on multiple levels (i.e. pings, ssh, web) You can try to boot into EM-mode, depending on the problem, this may give you access to certain areas, such as web interface and file sharing. You can also remove the hard drive from the LinkStation and connect it to a Linux workstation for repair. See the Articles area for instructions on how to disassemble the LinkStation.

What does the red button on the back do? Is it a reset button?

The red button causes the LinkStation to reboot. On reboot it replaces the current password files with the stock versions. If the hard drive is not present or partitioned then it may go into EM mode where the system can be flashed via the firmware updater.

You may force EM mode by holding the red init button and then powering up the unit. You will notice on the front of the unit, the power disk full and diag light will flash in unison.

My LinkStation LED(s) blinks X times and then powers down. What do the blinks mean?

What is EM mode?, How do I get my LinkStation out of EM mode?

EM Mode officially means Engineering Mode, but we also call it Emergency Mode. If the LinkStation encounters a serious error with the hard drive or file system it will enter EM Mode. When in EM mode the LinkStation loads its file system from the flash instead of the hard drive. The LinkStation can be seen on the network with the IP address 192.168.11.150 but can only be reached via ping or the LinkStation firmware flasher. The firmware updater is able to find the Linkstation, only if UDP-Port 22936 is open. This is always true in EM Mode. An FTP server appears to be running but we currently don’t know the username/password and what can be done via FTP.

You will need to correct the hard drive error and re-flash the firmware to get the LinkStation out of EM mode. Some users have reported success with installing a blank hard drive (in ext3 format) and flashing the firmware.

How noisy is the LinkStation? Is it fit for bedroom use?

The fan is relatively quiet compared to the average PC fan. However, it certainly isn’t silent (as Buffalo Technology advertises) and may be too loud for people who require absolute silence. Reports from several users seem to indicate that mipsel-hdhlan LinkStations are noticeably louder than powerpc-hdhlan or powerpc-hdhglan LinkStations.

Can I replace the LinkStation fan?

Yes. The stock fan is a 40mm x 10mm 12V fan, ADDA part #AD0412LX-G76 (see http://www.addausa.com/model_index.htm for more information). It can be replaced with most any equivalent fan. It may be easier to get the three pinned smart fans so that the system wont lock up.